Case ends against Eagles running back

Charges will be tossed in six months if Dion Lewis and his brother, Lamar, stay out of trouble

Updated 11:51 pm, Monday, July 23, 2012

Hotel surveillance footage showing the arrest of Dion and Lamar Lewis on July 8 in Albany, N.Y. A hotel staffer said the brothers were banging on the door “trying to break it down” and that Lamar was seen with a small knife in the hotel’s lobby.

Media: Times Union

ALBANY — Criminal charges against Philadelphia Eagles running back Dion Lewis will be dismissed in six months as long as the former Albany Academy standout stays out of trouble.

The agreement extends to Lewis' brother, Lamar, who appeared Monday afternoon in Albany City Court alongside his younger brother and their attorneys. Dion and Lamar Lewis were both charged with felony falsely reporting a fire and misdemeanor reckless endangerment on July 8 after an incident at the Hampton Inn on Chapel Street. Police said the brothers tried to knock down the glass doors to the hotel's lobby and then pulled a fire alarm after they were not allowed back inside by hotel security.

On Monday, David Gonzalez, the Albany County assistant district attorney who handled the case, said that the fire alarm was never pulled, but rather that the clear plastic case that protects the fire alarm was jostled. That triggered a different alarm that hotel staff described as the fire alarm, Gonzalez said.

At the beginning of the brief court appearance, Gonzalez asked Judge Thomas Keefe to reduce the felony charges against both Dion and Lamar Lewis to misdemeanor counts of the same crime and that those charges then be dismissed. Keefe granted the motion and, with the counts of reckless endangerment being the only remaining charges, agreed to adjourn the case in anticipation of dismissal.

911 dispatcher response from the Hampton Inn on Chapel Street in Albany, N.Y. A hotel staffer said the Lewis brothers were banging on the door “trying to break it down” and that Lamar was seen with a small knife in the hotel’s lobby.

Media: Times Union

"The evidence demonstrated that no crime was committed," said E. Stewart Jones, who represented Lamar Lewis, 35. Craig Crist represented Dion Lewis, 21. Both brothers declined to comment as they left court.

Reached by phone, District Attorney David Soares said the dismissal was the result of a thorough investigation.

"I don't think the charges were sustainable," Soares said. "What you have here was an overreaction on the part of the caller."

The incident unfolded around 4 a.m. after the brothers, intoxicated after a night of drinking on Pearl Street, according to police and attorneys, were locked out of the hotel without their room keys. A hotel staffer said the brothers were banging on the doors "trying to break them down" and that Lamar Lewis was seen with a small knife in the hotel's lobby minutes earlier. In a panicked 911 call, a copy of which was obtained by the Times Union via a Freedom of Information Law request, the staffer tells the dispatcher that one of the brothers has a knife and that "you need to get here right away."

On Monday, police acknowledged that they used pepper spray on both brothers before taking them into custody. Both police spokesman Steve Smith and Soares said that officers used the spray because they believed Dion and Lamar Lewis were trying to break into the hotel and were in possession of a knife.

911 call from the Hampton Inn on Chapel Street in Albany, N.Y. A hotel staffer said the Lewis brothers were banging on the door “trying to break it down” and that Lamar was seen with a small knife in the hotel’s lobby. They were guests at the hotel.

Media: Times Union

Video footage of the incident, which also was obtained by the Times Union through a Freedom of Information Law request, shows Dion and Lamar Lewis being arrested but, because of the vantage point of the security camera, does not capture the brothers allegedly banging on the door.

The footage shows officers entering through the doors leading to the hotel's lobby with guns drawn and pushing Dion and Lamar Lewis to the ground. With his gun still in his hand, one of the officers then quickly sprays pepper spray at both brothers before they are put in handcuffs and eventually dragged out in front of the hotel.

Neither attorney would comment on the use of force by police. Jones said the family does not plan file any civil suits stemming from the arrest.

"This case is over," Jones said.

Smith said the incident is being reviewed, a standard procedure any time force is used, but that there was nothing to indicate that the officers acted inappropriately. Soares concurred, saying that the officers only used force because of the way the hotel staffer described the incident.

"Think in terms of the police's reaction, you listen to the call, it sounded distressed," Soares said. "(The caller) is alleging that there were two men with weapons attempting to break into the hotel. The police responded in that context."

More Information

Dion and Lamar Lewis could have faced up to four years in prison if charged and convicted of the original felony count of falsely reporting a fire. Their mother, Linda Lewis, who appeared in court with her sons, said that Dion Lewis will report to Eagles training camp later this week.

"Both my sons have been through a lot," Linda Lewis said. "We're all pleased that this is over."

Dion Lewis, picked in the fifth round in the 2011 NFL Draft after a record-setting career at the University of Pittsburgh, is slated to be the Eagles' backup running back this season.